His Gardener, So Mistreated
by Ticket to the Circus
Summary: Elizabeth has put Finny in a situation where he has to run around dressed as a girl in search of his own clothes. But the guys seem to think he is a very pretty girl. What's Finny to do? His S-D coach never taught him how to handle situations like this!


**A/N:I wrote this just to make myself laugh really. But FYI, Sebastian, Claude, etc. aren't demons, Ciel's parents are still alive, and because of that I kind of screwed with some personalities-it wouldn't have been as fun if I hadn't though... I also used a few references that aren't Victorian, like Narnia... and Scooby-Doo... **

**However, if it'll make you happier, there is kissing!... and butt grabbing!...also, technically, it has hints of shounen-ai!**

**This fanfic will also be on DeviantArt.**

His Gardener, So Mistreated

It was a rainy day, a very stormy day to be correct, but it was this day that Earl Vincent Phantomhive chose to have a small party in celebration of his wife, Rachel's, birthday. For this occasion all the servants were hard at work preparing the dinner feast, getting the dinnerware set out, and many other tasks. One servant though, had an exceptionally difficult task-entertaining an early guest, the Earl's son's, Ciel's, fiancé, Elizabeth Middleford.

"Where is Ciel?" the young girl, Elizabeth, asked, sitting at a small table in the manor's lounge. Across from her was the gardener, Finnian, or Finny as most would call him; normally he would have been standing beside the table, but due to Elizabeth's demands he was sitting directly across from her. "Is he still getting ready for the party?" Elizabeth asked dully.

"Yes, my lady?" Finny replied almost in a timid voice.

"Why does it take boys forever to get ready?" Elizabeth complained, "At least the party isn't until tonight." Not hearing a reply from Finny, Elizabeth took a sip of her tea, "I do hope the rain stops by then." Again, Finny did not comment or her statement, so she took another sip of her tea. An awkward silence fell upon the lounge, and the only noise that echoed in the room was the sound of Elizabeth sitting her tea cup down. Within a few seconds of the silence Elizabeth cracked, "You can talk! Why are you acting so stiff?"

Finny cringed back at Elizabeth's sudden outburst, but nervously replied, "Because the last time I let my guard down around you, you put cat ears on me, and you painted my face to look like a cat's too."

"Ah, but that was for Halloween." Elizabeth replied, almost pouting, "I also chose costumes for the other servants."

"What about Christmas?" Finny sunk back in his chair as he continued, "You made me dress up as Mrs. Clause."

"I was an elf." Elizabeth retorted defensively.

"But I had to wear a dress."

"It was all in good fun." Elizabeth replied as she began to swirl her tea around with her spoon, "But don't worry I'm not going to make you dress up for the party tonight..." Elizabeth trailed off, almost as if she was having second thoughts.

Finny then looked to the door, where he saw a long box and two small ones sitting beside a small bookshelf, "Then why did you bring those in here instead of giving them to Mr. Sebastian to put with the other presents?"

Elizabeth was silent a long time before replying, "You're getting very perceptive, I never should have given you that Sherlock Holmes novel for your birthday."

* * *

Upstairs, and away from the busy haste of the servants, Ciel Phantomhive was struggling to choose the proper clothing to wear for his mother's birthday, "I am not wearing that frilly thing Sebastian laid out for me. He has horrible taste." Ciel mumbled as he rummaged through his wardrobe.

Whilst he continued to look, a light knocking sounded from his door. Without even bothering to turn around, Ciel immediately said, "Enter."

"You said that quite coldly." Vincent, Ciel's father, said as he entered the room, "I suppose you picked it up from me though."

"Possibly." Ciel responded as he looked deeper into the wardrobe.

Vincent stood and watched his son for a moment, before finally saying, with a smirk on his face, "Trying to find Narnia, Son?"

"I don't think I have any clothing of that brand, Father." Ciel sarcastically replied. He then shut the doors to the wardrobe and turned around to look at his father, "Did Sebastian complain about me not wanting to wear the clothing he picked out."

"Not yet, I think he might be waiting to see what you do within the next hour." Vincent said as he calmly sat down on Ciel's bed.

"Then why are you here?" Ciel asked as he sat down next to his father.

Vincent smiled and looked around Ciel's room, trying to find the right words, "Ciel, I want you to be on your best behavior tonight."

"Aren't I always?" Ciel asked curiously, but shortly the hidden message in his father's words hit him, "Wait a minute, the last time you said that to me, we visited 'his' home." Ciel stood up quickly, "I can't stand him! He is so... so... uppity! He thinks he's better than everyone else!"

"Now you know that is not true," Vincent defended, "he just has a strange way of expressing himself."

"He came onto me!" Ciel said in a sort of frantic whisper.

"He did not." Vincent laughed off.

"You weren't there." Ciel proclaimed, "I still shudder at the mere thought of what he did."

Vincent sighed, and decided to amuse his son's story, "What did he do then?"

"Well...he..." Ciel began to tense up as he continued," ... he..." Ciel then quickly turned his back to his father, "It's to embarrassing to say!"

"I'm sure it is." Vincent smirked as he stood up and went to the door, "Try not to argue with him tonight," Vincent then exited the room, but left one sentence trailing after, "But if you do, just go outside and fight it out."

Ciel then went back to his wardrobe and flung the doors open, "I might just do that, Father."

* * *

An hour later the servants were still busy preparing for the birthday dinner. However, the head butler, Sebastian, was given the task of preparing the birthday cake. Sebastian was always left in charge of the pastries and desserts; sometimes he wondered if his skill with making sweets was the only reason he was given the position of head butler. Nonetheless, he still diligently worked at icing the cake, focused, un-stirring, completely absorbed in his work, and completely oblivious to his surroundings, like a race horse. So focused on his work was he, that he never even noticed Finny poking his head around the entrance to the kitchen, trying to get Sebastian's attention.

For a good five minutes Finny called out to Sebastian, until finally he gave up with calling him and resorted to tossing pebbles at him. The first pebble missed and landed next to Sebastian's foot, the second pebble went way off and landed on top of the hat of the chef, Bard. Like Grandma always said though, "Third times the charm", so Finny tossed one last pebble and managed to hit Sebastian right on the back of his exposed neck.

Sebastian quickly slapped the back of his neck, then turned around to see Finny poking his head in the kitchen and beckoning him with a hasty hand gesture. Sitting aside the knife he had been using to ice the cake, he walked over to the door. However, Sebastian began scolding Finny before he could fully see him, "Finny you shouldn't throw things at pe-" but he was cut short when he saw the sight of Finny, to which he couldn't help but to gasp at.

Hearing Sebastian's reaction, the chef, Bard, turned around to see what was the matter, "Everything okay?"

"Yes." Sebastian quickly replied, and to prevent any further problems, he pulled the kitchen door shut. Once the door was shut Finny backed away from the wall, only to receive more questioning glances from Sebastian. "I don't want to know." Sebastian said as looked over Finny, "I don't want to know." Then, as if it would fix the matter, Sebastian turned away from Finny and took a deep breath, then turned back to face him, "Okay. I want to know. Why are you wearing a dress?"

Looking down at the frilly green dress he was wearing, Finny quietly began to explain, "Well, you see, Mr. Sebastian, lady Elizabeth said she wanted to play dress up. Then I said, 'Aren't you a little old to play dress up?', then she said, 'You're never to old to play dress up.' So then she handed me this box and told me to go change into it, while she put on her costume. I didn't want to upset her, so I just did as she said, but while I was changing she must have snuck in and took my clothes... and now I can't find her anywhere."

Sebastian slapped his on forehead in a shameful manner, "I told you not to fall for her tricks."

"Well, I'm sorry," Finny whined, "She's very intimidating."

"I don't care how intimidating she is, just go change into something else."

"But Lady Rachel said she wanted me to specifically wear those clothes tonight." Finny explained.

"Dare I ask why?" Sebastian asked, wondering what was so special about what Finny wore.

"She wanted me to match Ciel." Finny then added, "If Ciel decides to actually wear that outfit you picked out for him."

Sebastian looked at Finny in disbelief just for a few seconds, but then replied, "That's very sweet." Pulling his pocket watch out, Sebastian looked at the time, "Look, you have two hours to find Elizabeth and get changed before any guests arrive. I can't help you look though, but I can tell the maids to be on the look out for Elizabeth."

"Yes, Mr. Sebastian, I'll continue looking." Finny then ran off down the hall and Sebastian returned to the kitchen. As he ran down the halls he checked every door, only to find maids working or empty storage rooms. Slowly he made his way to the main entrance, where Vincent and Ciel were greeting the first guests.

"Behave now, Ciel." Vincent said as he and Ciel walked down the stairs together.

"I'll try, but I really don't like him." Ciel said behind a phony smile.

Vincent laughed lightly behind his own smile, "Welcome, Earl Trancy." He greeted the guest, Arnold Trancy, and Arnold's son, Alois, "I'm so glad you could come, but where is little Luka?"

"I'm afraid he's caught the flu," Arnold replied as he handed his hat and coat to another butler, Tanaka, "so I had to leave him with the nanny, Hannah."

"Oh dear," Vincent said sympathetically, "the flu sure is working fast. The cooks are short handed tonight because of the flu as well."

"I figured as much, " Arnold then pointed to three triplets and a tall butler wearing glasses behind him, "I brought them in case your servants needed some extra help."

"That is ever so kind of you." Vincent said cheerfully, "It is a favor I will definitely return one day."

"Actually Vincent I was wondering if I could talk to you about an urgent business matter before other guests arrive." Arnold said as he watched Tanaka lead the other servants off to the kitchen.

"Of course," Vincent then looked to Ciel, "Ciel, play nice with Alois while I'm away." He then left the two boys, but not before giving Ciel a rough pat on the head. Ciel tried with all his might to give a believing smile, but one could tell he had something on the tip off his tongue he just wanted to say.

As Vincent and Arnold headed up the stairs to Vincent's study, Tanaka and Arnold's four servants walked into the corridor leading to the kitchen. However, at the exact same moment they walked into the corridor was precisely when Finny came walking by the door. One could only imagine that Finny would have bumped into Tanaka the one leading the group to the kitchen, but instead he someone missed Tanaka and went straight into one of the triplets, who was trailing behind the others. This did not throw the either of them off balance though, the other servant simply caught Finny in what could be mistaken as an embrace.

"I'm so sorry!" Finny said as embarrassment, worry, and anxiety fell upon him, "I should have been more careful." He then regained his balance and took a step back. Observing the other servant, Finny knew that he did not work in the Phantomhive manor, which gave him a little bit of relief, until he noticed Tanaka was also present and was eyeing Finny curiously.

Tanaka coughed and then made a quick cover for Finny, "This is our new maid, Francine. She just started yesterday." Finny curtsied to the four in response to Tanaka's introduction, like he had seen the maids do often. "Francine this is Earl Arnold Trancy's butler, Claude, and these three are..." Tanaka paused for a moment, putting his hand on his chin, "... I don't remember..."

Claude then named out each of the triplets, pointing to each one respectively, "This is Cantebury, next to him is Thompson, and the one who just caught you is Timber."

"Wow," Finny said in astonishment, "I thought I was just seeing things because I bumped my head."

Tanaka, the only one who found Finny's joke funny, began to chuckle," Francine, you must stop with the jokes now." Tanaka then nudged Claude, "She might not have a sense of direction, but she has a sense of humor."

Claude however, did not have a sense of humor, so he just settled for a forced smile. On the other hand Thompson and Cantebury found Tanaka to be humorous and they couldn't help but laugh. Timber though seemed to be to concentrated on Finny though. His gaze made Finny nervous, and Finny wondered if Timber knew that he was really a boy wearing a dress.

Whilst all this was going on in the corridor, just on the other side of the door Ciel was trying his best to be polite. "Alois, you do look ever so charming. That vest compliments your frivolously high knee socks ever so well."

"As do your frills compliment your pilgrim shoes." Alois retorted back with such an innocent smile, even Ciel had a hard time believing it was fake.

"I am so dreadfully jealous that you can still fit into the same 'trousers' you wore when you were five." Ciel replied, as he looked down at the shorts Alois chose to wear.

Alois then replied, never letting the smile fade from his face, "I wish my butler still picked out my clothes for me too, I find it so hard to choose for myself."

The two then shared and laugh, but Ciel was still had a mountain of "complements" for Alois. "Oh, Alois, I must say though, the last person I saw wearing shoes like that was on the streets of Whitechapel."

That last remark struck a cord with Alois, and Ciel took his moment to revel in it, at least until Alois came back with, "That must be wear you bought those cufflinks, no wonder they look so cheap."

The smile then faded off of Ciel's face, though it was fake to begin with. Putting his hand on his hip, Ciel, still with a smile on his face, replied with one simple little word, "Trollop*."

"Are you really going to resort to childish name calling?" Alois responded; his innocent smile more of a devilish smirk now.

"Absolutely." Ciel replied stone faced.

"That's good then, because I must say this, and I regret holding my tongue last time I saw you, but when you wear blue, you look like a ladybird**." Alois said as charmingly as he could.

"How dare you!" Ciel gasped, almost surprised, "If anyone is a-" Ciel was then cut off by the sound of a door opening to his right. Looking back he saw Finny come walking out, but what threw him off was the sight of Finny in a dress. He then went silent as Finny curtsied to the two of them before hastily heading upstairs. After seeing that sight come and go so quickly Ciel was actually unable to compose a sentence.

For a moment Ciel just stood there staring up the stairs, in utter disbelief, and only when Alois grabbed his shoulder did he return to his senses. "Who was that?" Alois immediately asked.

"Umm..." Ciel said trying to think up a good excuse, "She's new, I don't know her name yet..."

"Well find out," Alois said as he let go of Ciel's shoulder, "I want you to introduce me to her."

"Why?" Ciel asked puzzled.

"Because she is absolutely stunning." Alois flat out said, and actually caused Ciel to choke on his own breath by the suddenness of his remark, "None of the maids in my father's employment could compare to that."

"What?" Ciel managed to interject as he caught his breath back.

"I love a girl with short hair." Alois said as he stared off up the stairs, "Wait. You aren't after her too, are you?"

Ciel then paused, puzzled and surprised still, but he then quickly developed an idea, "No. She's all yours. However, lets make a bet first."

* * *

Upstairs Finny was still looking for Elizabeth. After searching all the rooms to only find them empty, he decided to check back in the lounge, where he luckily found Elizabeth sipping tea, "Lady Elizabeth." He almost shouted.

The sudden calling of her name surprised her so much that she almost dropped her teacup, "Finny! Don't do that, you could have given me a heart attack."

"Where are my clothes!" Finny frantically asked, nearly on the edge of tears.

"What are you talking about?" Elizabeth quirked an eyebrow at Finny's outrageous question.

"You took my clothes when I was changing into... THIS!" Finny emphasized by spanning the sides of the dress out, "The party is going to start soon, may I please have them back." He pleaded, finally to the point of crying.

"Okay," Elizabeth sighed, "I hid them in one of the storage rooms near the kitchen. I was hoping you'd be able to find them on your own."

Finny then thought back to when he was looking in all the storage rooms, "I can't believe I was that close to them."

"Yeah... sorry. It was just a little prank." Elizabeth said as she went to take another sip of her tea.

"Why are you so mean to me?" Do you enjoy tormenting me? Finny whined.

Elizabeth sat her cup down and said, as serious as she could be, "I like seeing you cry."

"You're impossible!" Finny then stormed out the room, abandoning his manners, and retraced his steps back to the kitchen. He knew that guests would be arriving soon so he had to hurry and get past the main entrance. Deep down though, he had to admit that running around and being sneaky was kind of fun. Those thoughts were put away though when he bumped into Alois Trancy when he turned a corner. Only this time both persons made contact with the floor.

Finny quickly apologized when he realized exactly who he fell on, "I am so sorry young master Trancy!" He immediately planned to get off of the impatient blond, but he found it a hard thing to do when his wrist was seized by another hand.

"It's okay, Love," Alois said; smiling his angelic, phony smile, "Actually I was just looking for you."

"Huh?" Finny retorted nervously as Alois sat up so that Finny was practically sitting in his lap. The whole situation made Finny very uncomfortable, even the innocent smile Alois was playing off made him uncomfortable.

"I'll admit, I'm not a very straight-forward person. Several people find this charming of me," Alois said as he slid his hand up Finny's arm, "but I find it very hard to express myself normally at the moment, so I'll just be straight forward."

"You don't have to be." Finny replied as he shyly moved away from Alois, but still unable to free his arm, "I get your message."

"Can you tell me your name then?" Alois asked he inched closer.

"Fran... cine..." Finny said as he watched Alois hand.

"Franny then." Alois' angelic smiled turned sinister very quickly," You know what 'Franny' rhymes with?"

"No... wha-AHH!" Finny squealed rather surprisingly as he felt Alois roughly grab his posterior. He jumped back quickly, freeing his arm, and separating himself from Alois by a near foot, "How dare you!" Finny then gasped as a realization hit him, "You did grab the young master's bottom after all!"

"Yeah, I kind of did, and I told you I was going to be straight forward about this." Alois reminded, but then soon quickly made another go for Finny. Finny, being fast on his feet was able to quickly get up and run toward the stairs. "It'll be easier for you if you don't resist." Alois teased as he chased after Finny.

As he ran down the stairs he didn't even bother to see if Tanaka was welcoming any guests in, he was however standing at the door waiting for more arrivals. The sight of Finny running down the stairs like Jack the Ripper was after him, didn't phase him in the least bit. He didn't even remark when Finny practically tore the-door-that-led-to-the-corridor-that-led-to-the-kitchen down. He did however say something when he saw Alois come down the stairs, "Oh, young sir, she went that way." Tanaka said as he pointed to the-door-that-led-to-the-corridor-that-led-to-the-kitchen .

"Thanks..." Alois began to walk to the door, but stopped abruptly, "Wait... why would you tell me that when it is obvious I was chasing her." Tanaka just shrugged in reply. "I bet that she really went through that door." Alois pointed to a door to the left, this door led to the ballroom that led to the balcony.

"Yeah," Alois nodded, "I'm going that way." He then stopped, and turned back to Tanaka, "But what if she really did go through that door." Alois pondered, "You could have told me the truth to throw me off. She might have actually gone through the door you said she had, but then again you could have assumed that I would be assuming all these facts and therefore I would waste to much time to actually catch her and therefore lose my bet with Ciel!"

Tanaka just stared at Alois, but then calmly said, "Maybe."

Alois then exhaled, and said in amazement, "Are you a Sherlock Holmes fan as well?"

"... Possibly."

While Tanaka kept Alois busy Finny ran towards the kitchen, and then practically threw himself into the first storage room he saw. "Where are they!" He said to himself as he began to search for his clothing. He opened every box, looked on every self, peeked in every bottle, and found nothing. "Ah!" Finny was reaching his breaking point, he couldn't stop himself from screaming, "I'm never going to find them before Alois finds me! I'll have to attend Lady Rachel's party dressed like this!"

As Finny was about to officially give up, he heard the storage door open. He was in a position where he couldn't see the entrant though. His biggest fear was that Alois had found him. Thinking the worst, he slowly turned around only to see one of the triplets standing in the entrance with a box in his hand. Finny exhaled in relief, "I'm so glad to see you, Timber, I was so worried you were somebody else."

Timber took a long look at the sight of the storage room before, "Were... you looking for something?"

"Yes..." Finny stood and brushed his dress off, "I was helping the gardener look for his clothes that he seemed to misplace. I'm pretty sure they're in one of the three storage rooms."

Timber then sat the box he was carrying down, "Maybe I can help you."

"Really? You're the first person to offer all day long." Finny said happily, his mood beginning to brighten.

"I don't mind, besides they don't need me in the kitchen anymore." Timber said, allowing a small smile to grace his lips for Finny.

"Thank you so much." Finny wiped away a few happy tears from his face and walked over to Timber, "The next storage room is across the hall." He then happily led Timber across the hall.

Since all the cooking was done, most of the servants were preparing the food onto plates. Because of this the hall was very quiet and no one ever saw Finny and Timber go into the second storage room. Once in the room Finny immediately began to look on the shelves, and he didn't even bother to pay any attention to what Timber was doing. If he had been taking notice of his helper though, he would have seen Timber close the door behind him and twist the lock on the knob.

Just down the hall, in the kitchen, the other two of the triplets, Claude, and Sebastian were chatting as they finished up there work. After only five minutes after meeting him, Sebastian soon found Thompson to be quite the chatter box. "That's when I told her she had the wrong triplet." Thompson said in a rather meaningful manner, "I said to her, 'I did not try to take advantage on you in the laundry room. You're looking for my brother.', " Thompson then looked to Cantebury, "Not you, I'm talking about Timber."

"Oh." Cantebury replied dully, just by looking at him you could tell he wasn't paying attention to a thing Thompson was saying.

"Yes, Mr. Sebastian, Timber is a terrible flirt." Thompson pointing to Sebastian, letting Sebastian know that he wanted him to hear what he was saying. "There is a little joke the maids came up with, 'Don't disagree with Claude, don't flirt with Hannah, and don't get caught alone with Timber.' Honestly! I'm ashamed to share the same face with him."

Sebastian laughed sullenly, "You don't say." He was just wishing for Thompson to shut up.

"Mmm hmm! And if you want a first hand witness, just ask Claude." Thompson informed as he finished preparing the plate he was working.

Normally Sebastian wouldn't have cared, but he knew Claude personally, so when Thompson told him something like that he couldn't help but look at Claude in disbelief, "Really, Claude?"

Claude stopped working on what he was doing and looked to Sebastian, "I'd rather not talk about it."

"You had to go to therapy for three months." Cantebury said calmly.

"Mind your own business Cantebury." Claude whispered harshly to the triplet that was standing next to him.

"Speaking of my brother though, " Thompson jumped back in, "not you Cantebury, I'm talking about Timber."

"Oh." Cantebury replied dully.

"Did you see the way he was looking at that maid, Francine?" Thompson said, almost looking as if it disgusted him, "I know what he was thinking, and you know, I know, you know what he was thinking too."

"Francine?" Sebastian queried, "We don't have a maid named Francine."

"Oh, that old guy said she just started yesterday, so you might not remember her." Thompson explained, "She had short blond hair, green eyes, timid looking face, nice bum."

"Brother!" Cantebury said as he hit Thompson with a close-by rag, "Be careful what you say."

"You have to admit she did have a nice one." Thompson said poking his brother in the ribs.

"Well... yeah, but it's not like I was taking note of it, like you were." Cantebury said, laughing lightly, "You like to profile everyone."

"Where is Timber right now?" Sebastian asked, as he realized that Thompson was talking about Finny.

"I don't know. I know he should be in here helping though!" Thompson said, he then turned to a cook he saw entering the kitchen, "Hey, you!"

"Huh?" The man stopped and looked to Thompson," What is it?"

"You seen my brother?"

"What's he look like?" The cook replied as looked down at his wrist watch.

"What you think he looks like!" Thompson replied, almost disbelieving, "He looks like me!"

"Isn't that him standing right next to you?" The cook asked pointing to Cantebury.

Thompson couldn't control himself from slapping his hand against his own face, "Not him. I'm talking about my other brother, Timber."

"Hmmmm... nope." The cook said as he removed his hat, "I heard two people in one of the storage rooms though."

"I'm going to go look," Thompson said as he pointed to the cook, "Come take over for me."

"I think I better go too, " Sebastian said, somewhat worried about Finny after hearing Thompson talk about Timber's behavior.

"Wow..." Cantebury looked up at Sebastian in amazement, "I wouldn't even volunteer to go with Thompson to the bathroom, let alone go looking for someone with him. You are like super brave."

Back in the storage room, Finny continued to look for his missing clothes, unaware of the door being locked and unaware of what he might have possibly gotten himself into. "I have literally been looking for these clothes all day. You honestly wouldn't believe me if I told you the whole story." Finny said as he tried to start a conversation with Timber.

"How did this gardener misplace his clothes?" Timber asked as he pulled a shirt out of a box, followed by a pair of trousers.

"Honestly, someone hid them from him." Finny said as he continued to look over an old bookshelf, "This same person enjoys watching him panic, that's why they did it."

"I see..." Timber then turned to look at Finny, "Are these what you are looking for?" He asked, holding up the trousers and shirt.

Finny turned to look at the articles of clothing Timber held, "Oh my! You found them!" He cheered happily as he ran over to Timber, and out of habit he embraced Timber in a hug, "Thank you so much."

"No problem." Timber said as he blushed and looked down at the innocent Finny, hugging him with all his might, even going so far as to rub his face in Timber's vest. The longer Finny held him in a hug the more Timber's face heated up though, until finally he said aloud, "Just like a little kitten."

"Huh?" Finny asked he felt Timber hug him back.

"You act just like a little kitten, " Timber said as he lay his head down on top of Finny's, "so clinging and needy." Finny could then feel Timber slowly moving his hands down Finny's back, which only cause him more worry.

Finny exhaled breathlessly, as he realized that he might have been better off with Alois. "Not you too... please not you too!" Finny pushed against Timber and managed to get out of the awkward embrace and make a break for the door, only to find it was locked.

Before he could flick the lock, however, Timber put his hands on the door, pinning Finny against it. Finny wanted to scream but it just wouldn't come out, instead a dry wheezing sound made it's way out his throat. "Please don't be frightened." Timber said, "I didn't mean to be so forceful, but I couldn't control myself."

Finny turned around to face Timber, hoping maybe he could find another opening, but sadly, there was only one exit door, "It's okay, Timber. Please could you let me leave though? I must get the gardener his clothes back."

"At least hear me out first," Timber pleaded, "Please let me explain my actions. I would feel awful if I might have caused damage to our growing friendship."

Finny slinked back against the door, "I-I.. suppose I could hear you out..."

"Thank you, Francine," Timber said as he removed one hand from the door to stroke Finny's face, "I know we only met today, and this may sound to sudden, but ever since I laid eyes on you in the corridor this evening I haven't been able to stop thinking of you."

"All nice thoughts I hope." Finny said as he felt a beam of sweat roll his neck. Looking up into Timber's eyes only aroused his anxiety even more, but as long as he kept Timber's attention on him, Timber might forget all about the door and remove his other hand.

"Of course," Timber then began to blush heavily, "I would never think of you in such a...! ... I just..."

Finny then put his hands up defensively, regretting that his words had a negative effect, "I'm sorry! I wasn't suggesting that you might. It's just like Mr. Tanaka said I have a sense of humor and sometimes I use it at the wrong time." As Finny continued to try to put Timber at ease, the anxiety caused him to start to shiver nervously, "I'm sorry, I meant no offense."

Timber smiled lightly at Finny, and said, "Francine, you needn't apologize so much."

"I'm sorry..." Finny then dropped his hands down by his sides, hoping Timber wouldn't notice how much he was shaking.

"Now you're apologizing for apologizing..." Timber couldn't help but giggle slightly at Finny's instinct to say he was sorry over anything.

"Well, it becomes a habit when you're constantly doing something wrong." Finny defensively proclaimed.

"_ 'Never make a defense or an apology until you are accused.'_ ," Timber said, quoting King Charles I, "I must admit though, you are quite cute when you do apologize."

Finny laughed at Timber's remark, "Then you are the only one who thinks so; everyone else says I'm absolutely pathetic when I apologize...," Finny then cast his head down and said, "I have to agree with them too."

"Please don't put yourself down like that," Timber said, cupping Finny's face in his hands, forcing Finny to look up at him," It saddens me to see such a pretty girl act so insecurely."

Feeling his cheeks heat up, Finny thought it best if he just came out and told Timber the truth, before Timber might say anything else he would regret, "Look, Timber, I'm not a 'pretty girl', I-"

"Of course you are!" Timber proclaimed, "You shouldn't say that you aren't." Inching closer to Finny, Timber continued, "You are by far the loveliest girl I have ever met, and I feel honored just to be in your presence."

Finny could feel his face heat up even more as Timber inched even closer to him, "You r-really s-s-shouldn't say such a thing... !"

"Please, Francine, I can't hide it anymore," Timber confessed still cupping Finny's face in his hands, "I have very strong feelings for you that can only be described as 'love'." Any words or pleas Finny might have attempted to say were then passionately smothered out by Timber crushing his lips against Finny's.

However, panic soon replaced Finny's anxiety when he felt Timber's arms snake around him. Then to worsen the matter, Timber actually began to unhook the back of Finny's dress. Finny officially labeled this a worse-case-scenario, and he only wished his self-defense coach had taught him what to do in this kind of situation. He decided to do the only thing he could think of-push against Timber. Though, he soon found that Timber was much stronger, and with one hand, Timber managed to pin both of Finny's arms above his head.

Then, to Finny's discomfort, Timber slid his free hand down to Finny's hip, where he decided to be the best location to slowly pull Finny's dress skirt up. Finally able to make a sound Finny squeaked unhappily.

"I'm sorry." Timber said pulling back slightly, "To soon?"

"You think!" Finny practically yelled.

"I thought so." Timber said before crushing his lips against Finny's again, much to the disapproving muffles of Finny.

Just outside the storage room, and down the hall a bit, Thompson and Sebastian walked from the kitchen. It had taken them awhile to leave the kitchen, mainly because Thompson couldn't quit talking about how ashamed he was of Timber.

"I honestly can't believe were related sometimes!" Thompson complained, "He will say anything, and I mean Anything, to charm a girl. Mind you that time he went after Claude was accident; he had just one too many at the pub." As Sebastian opened the first storage door he saw it was empty, but that didn't stop Thompson from talking, "If he's with a girl, I bet you he already has her dress around ankles."

"Don't say that..." Sebastian said feeling worried for Finny, "He might not even be with a girl... he might be helping one of the cooks fetch a box or something." Checking the second storage door he found it in an utter mess, "What happened in here?"

"Looks like it might have been a struggle." Thompson casually suggested, "Sometimes my brother can be a bit rough when his sheer charms aren't enough."

"Oh my..." Sebastian said as he stepped in the room, pushing open boxes aside, "Why are all these boxes open then?"

Thompson was about to throw out another suggestion but a bumping noise from across the hall caught both his and Sebastian's attention. "Now it's my turn to ask, what was that?"

"We better go check it out." Sebastian said as he made his way around the boxes and back to the storage room exit. Once he was at the opposite storage room he turned the door knob and pushed the door, only to find something was holding it shut, "Fi-Francine! Are you in there?"

No anwser came, but that's only logical, since it is quite hard to speak when someone is invading your mouth so thoroughly, that even Napoleon Bonaparte would envy that invasion. Finny did do his best to knock back, but even that is rather difficult when both your arms are pinned above your head. In the end Finny settled for bumping the door with his foot, which proved to be just as effective.

"Timber, this is your brother, not Cantebury, talking to you. You better be behaving yourself!" Thompson yelled from the other side of the door, "You better not shame my face anymore than you already have. No means 'no', and if she said 'no' you better let her go. I'm not playing with you!" Thompson then shook his head disapprovingly, "Mama would be ashamed if she saw you now; Daddy wouldn't but Mama would. Poor, sweet, Granny would have a heart attack if she knew how you behaved." Thompson paused and waited for any signs of his brother replying, but nothing came.

"I'm just going to knock it down." Sebastian said as he walked back away from the door, "If anyone gets a broken bone, I'll pay for the doctor."

"Hold on," Thompson said, stopping Sebastian, "Timber! I don't want to, but I will bring Cantebury into this if I have too! What kind of example are you setting for him? He's the youngest, and he looks up to you like a role model. If he starts acting like a playboy too, it'll be on your head." Thompson then started to fake a crying sound, "He's already pinching the maids' bottoms when they aren't looking! What do you do though? You ignore his behavior, just like you ignoring me right now."

"I really wish you would just shut up for one minute." Timber said after he pulled away from Finny, allowing Finny to catch his breathe. "I'm sorry he's interrupting us Francine." Timber said looking down at Finny.

"That's ...okay... " Finny said between breathes, "I really... have to... leave." He then reached behind him with his now free arms and began to hook his dress back together. While he did this, Timber again stole another breathless kiss from him. Finny found it easier to push Timber away this time though. Quickly, Finny bent down and picked up the clothes that he had been searching hours for, "It was nice talking with you..." Finny said dryly as he turned the door knob and pulled the door open just far enough he could slip through. Once in the hall, Finny immediately went to Sebastian and clung to his arm.

"Are you alright?" Sebastian asked, seeing the sight of Finny weak to his knees.

"I have my clothes." Finny whispered, "Please, escort me to my room before someone else tries to take advantage of me." He then let Sebastian lead him off whilst he still clung to his arm, afraid he might fall down.

After the two were around the corner and out of sight, Thompson pushed the storage door open fully and walked in the door frame, "Sometimes I just can't believe you Timber."

"Why is that?" Timber asked playfully as he fixed his shirt collar and tie, that had somehow gotten loosened.

"Every time we go somewhere, you do this sort of thing." Thompson shook his head disapprovingly again, "I swear I don't know who you get it from. Daddy and Poppy weren't like that. The more and more I think about it, the only thing I can come up with is that you must be adopted."

"I'd like to see how that is possible." Timber joked as he walked past Thompson and headed back to the kitchen.

Thompson looked off at Timber as walked down the hall, and then questioned, "So, nine months from now, am I gonna be an uncle or what?"

* * *

"Oh, Ciel, you look so lovely!" Rachel exclaimed as she saw her son walking up to her, "I'm so glad you decided to wear what Sebastian picked out for you tonight."

"Happy Birthday, Mum." Ciel said as he leaned up and kissed his mother on the cheek.

"Thank you, Ciel." Rachel said before looking around the ballroom, "Ciel, have you seen Finny? I wanted you two to stand next to each other, and show me your matching outfits."

"Umm..." Ciel looked to the double doors nervously, "He should be here any minute."

"Oh that's good." Rachel said before directing her attention to her sister, Angelina.

Seeing his mother's attention redirected, Ciel quickly went to the double doors and exited the ballroom. "I hope I haven't gotten Finny in any trouble," Ciel mumbled as he ran to the stairs and preceded to go to the second level of the mansion.

Upstairs, in the servants area, Finny walked out of his bedroom he shared with two other servants, Tanaka and Bard, finally back in his appropriate clothes he worked so hard to fine. His cheerful mood instantly returned to him. Now the only thing he had to do was go downstairs and present himself to Lady Rachel, who had so caringly had his clothing specially made for the party.

Finny happily walked down the hall, then another hall, then another hall, and another hall, and then he stopped in his place, and wondered why there were so many halls in the servants area. However, his thoughts were soon banished when he saw a shadowy figure at the end of the hall he was currently in. His heart sank when he realized who was at the end of the hall waiting for him.

"I have never lost a bet before," Alois said as he stood at the end of the hall, panting, as if he had run a marathon, "and I am not going to loose one tonight."

Suddenly, Finny wished he was back with the lovesick Timber. Finny turned and ran in the opposite direction, screaming like his self-defense coach taught him, "Mr. Sebastian, I really need you and your chatter box sidekick again!"

"You're not going to get away this time! By the way you look so phony in those man clothes!" Alois then chased after Finny, down the halls, in rooms and out of other rooms. All-in-all, it looked like a scene from Scooby-Doo.

Somehow, Finny had made it back to where the chase started, so he immediately headed for the stairs. Only, again, he ran straight into someone as he made the turn. "Please don't be Alois!" Finny cried out as he squeezed his eyes shut, scared to look at the figure that landed on him.

"Finny!" Ciel said excitedly, "I'm so glad I found you!"

"Young master? What are you doing up here, shouldn't you be at the party?" Finny questioned as he opened his eyes in relief.

"I had to find you before Alois did." Ciel then looked around, "Is he still chasing you?"

"Yes...?" Finny said curiously, wondering why Ciel knew about Alois chasing him.

"Has he kissed you?" Ciel asked-dead seriously.

"What!"

"Yes or no!" Ciel ordered in a panic.

"No..." Finny said staring up at his distraught master, "Is he suppose to?"

Ciel averted his eyes from Finny's stare, "I... sort of made a bet."

Finny was no longer staring, he was glaring, "What sort of bet?"

"I just wanted to make a bet that involved the taking of one of your hairpins, but... one thing led to another and somehow I ended up in a very compromising bet..." Ciel explained, but finny could tell he was still withholding information.

"What were the terms of the bet?"

"Fine! Whoever stole a kiss from the new maid, 'Francine' first won, and they could demand anything they wanted of the loser." Ciel fully explained, regret dripping from his voice.

"How could you agree to that!" Finny gasped, "I can't believe you actually-"

"Alois can be very convincing when he wants to be!" Ciel yelled back.

Finny inhaled and then exhaled, hoping to calm his nerves, "So, what are you going to do?"

"I'm not losing," Ciel said in a commanding voice, "As soon as Alois comes 'round that corner were going to do what stage actors in Medieval times did; suck it up like men and kiss!"

"How about we don't and say we did?" Finny pleaded, "I've already had my first stolen by another man, I don't want my second to be too."

"He wouldn't believe us." Ciel proclaimed, "Don't worry though, I'll be quick with it."

"I know you won't though!" Finny cried out, nearly on the brink of tears.

Ciel then looked down the hall quickly, "He's coming, so just shut up and stop crying, it's not like we'll ever have to do this again."

"But-" Finny started to say, but was quickly cut off by his second kiss being stolen.

"I've really got to but some shoes with normal heels," Alois said, panting, as he walked around the corner of the hall. What he saw as he came around the corner, however, made him forget all about his shoes, "Oh, bloody hell!"

"Ha!" Ciel released Finny and sat up, "I win, and you just lost the game."

"Congratulations," Finny said rubbing his mouth off, "Can you remove yourself from me now."

"Oh, sorry." Ciel apologized before he stood so Finny could get up.

"Damn," Alois scowled, ready to punch the wall, "What do want as your prize then."

Ciel smirked triumphantly, "Oh, it's good, trust me, it's good. Starting next week, and lasting all week, you're going to be my personal slave and do whatever I tell you to."

"All week!" Alois shouted, "That's so not right!"

"Oh. but it'll be so good." Ciel couldn't resist but to rub his hands together menacingly as he chuckled at the idea of what he was going to put Alois through.

"But next week I have to go camping with my father!" Alois explained.

"Then I'll come to." Ciel immediately agreed, "My father likes camping too. We can make it a father-son-bonding-retreat."

* * *

Later that night, after the party had ended, and all the guests were leaving, Finny managed to pull himself into the kitchen, where Sebastian, Bard, and a maid, Maylene, were washing the dishes. As soon as Finny made it in the kitchen, he sat down on a bar stool that faced one of the many counters. Hearing Finny's entrance, Sebastian turned around to greet him, "Hello Finny, how was your day?"

"Heh... heh..." Finny then raised his right hand in a fist, and immediately stuck one finger up, "I was forced to dress as girl, by Lady Elizabeth," he then raised another finger, "whom I ran all over the mansion for, only to find out I would have to retrace my steps," he then raised a third finger, "I got chased around by Alois Trancy," he raised a fourth finger, "I had my first kiss stolen by another man," he then raised one last finger to produce an open hand, "and I lost my second kiss to, again, another man."

"Wow," Sebastian said smiling, "I cooked for other people all day."

Finny sighed, and looked at Sebastian exhaustedly, "You win." He then hopped off the bar stool, "Need any help?"

"Actually," Maylene said, "you can take those crates to Earl Trancy's carriage." She then nudged her head to the boxes, since her hands were elbow deep in water.

"He's still here?" Finny said curiously as he walked over to the crates.

"Always first one to arrive and last to leave." Bard said, with a cigarette gritted between his teeth.

"How true." Finny said as he left the kitchen carrying the two crates. It was hard to see how to walk while carrying both crates, but somehow Finny managed to make it outside. Making it to the carriage was another story. Finny never even saw it coming-a rock(that looked oddly like Abraham Lincoln) was sitting two or three feet from the carriage that Finny was heading to, minding it's own business and reading the personals columns in this weeks news paper. That didn't matter to Finny though, cause he never saw it and tripped right on it.

Luckily though, someone was there to catch him. "Are you okay?" The person asked from behind the crates he managed to save along with Finny.

"Oh, yes," Finny said, regaining his posture, "Thank you."

The other person took one of the crates, so Finny could see in front of his own face, and the sight of the person before him surprised him. "If it makes you feel better, I tripped on that rock too." Timber said, smiling friendly to Finny.

"Oh... heh..." Finny laughed it off, but in his head he was repeatedly chanting, "Don't recognize me, don't recognize me, don't recognize me! Dammit don't recognize me!"

"Um..." Timber started, "Have we met before?"

"Oh, maybe." Finny said, trying his best to phrase his sentence right without lying, "We could have passed each other in the halls or something."

Timber then sat the crate down on the back of the carriage, "That's probably it. I could have sworn you were someone else, I'm sorry."

Finny giggled and sat his crate next to Timber's, " '_Never make a defense or an apology until you are accused.'_ " He said, quoting what Timber had said to him earlier.

* * *

ZE END!... maybe... maybe not...

Endnotes:

*Trollop is Victorian slang for a sluttish woman.

**Ladybird is Victorian slang for a prostitute.

Never make a defense or an apology until you are accused.-King Charles I of England

**A/N: I'm actually thinking of writing a sequel to explain what happens during that week Alois has to be Ciel's personal slave...**


End file.
